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Union Meets with 9/11 Museum; Sets Course Toward Recognition of Transit Workers at Ground Zero

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SEPTEMBER 27 -- President Utano and other union reps met today with curators and executives of the National September 11th Memorial Museum to advance our campaign to obtain recognition for the efforts of transit workers on the pile.

The Museum reached out to request a meeting after the union launched a petition on change.org demanding recognition, and secured widespread media coverage of the campaign. The petition has garnered more than 27,000 signatures thus far.

President Utano and Executive Board Member Mario Galvet, who has been heading up the union's 9/11 recognition project, made the point that in the first 48 hours, NYCT played the critical role of clearing debris crushed vehicles as well as cutting steel to enable first responders to begin rescue efforts.

The Museum's representatives, including Executive VP Clifford Chanin, were receptive to the union's concerns, and asked us to present 9/11 member stories along with artifacts from the rescue and recovery effort for their consideration as museum exhibits.

President Utano volunteered to donate a large screen TV so that the Transit Transit Newsmagazine episode, "Above and Below," could be screened on a continuous loop for museum visitors. He said that when he -- along with many other transit workers -- brings his grandchildren to the museum, they must be able to see the documented critical contributions that transit workers made to the rescue and recovery effort on full display.

In the photo: At today's meeting, the union's reps (on left) included President Utano and Exec Board Member Mario Galvet. In the foreground at left is Julie Booth, the daughter of 9/11 responder and Structure Maintainer Robert Booth.

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Eastern European Day is October 16th

Eastern European Day celebrates the heritage of TWU Local 100 members who come from Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Russia, and the former Soviet Republics. It's a great evening at Tatiana Restaurant in Brighton Beach. Click here to register.

Union Mourns Joseph Calisi, 67, Aided in Organizing New Unit

Union members in the Career and Salary Unit are mourning the passing on August 30 of Computer Associate 3 Joseph Calisi, 67. At his retirement in 2020 he had 34 years of service with NYCT.

He was a dedicated union activist, working doggedly to organize workers in the Computer titles, producing pamphlets and publications for the effort. Thanks to his tenacity and the commitment of a core group of that formed around him, the unit voted to join TWU Local 100 in 2017.

MTA Chair Janno Lieber announces the approval of a contract for Career and Salary unit members

MTA Board Approves "Career and Salary" Unit Contract

SEPTEMBER 21 -- The MTA Board approved a negotiated contract between TWU Local 100 and the Authority on behalf of approximately 900 employees in the "Career and Salary" unit, many of whom work at 2 Broadway. The titles include Staff Analysts, Computer Specialists, and others. The approval was reached in an MTA Board executive session, closed to the public, and it was announced by MTA CEO Janno Lieber after the board returned to its public meeting on September 21st, approximately 3 hours into the meeting. The contract mirrors the gains achieved by the last general contract reached by TWU Local 100 in 2019 including a compounded wage increase of 9.84% over the life of the contract. More details about the agreement will be forthcoming, including details on retro checks.

Union officers surround Bus Operator Michael Haynes, who was menaced by Tony Burnett in 2019

Ex-Con Gets 7 Years After Menacing Bus Operator

Sept. 21, 2022 -- An ex-con was sentenced today to seven years in prison for menacing M11 Bus Operator Michael Haynes with a loaded gun in August 2019. About a dozen MaBSTOA officers and members joined Haynes as a show of solidarity in Manhattan Criminal Court on Centre St.

“Justice was served,” Haynes said after the proceeding.

NYPD CHIEF DESCRIBES SUBWAY POLICING EFFORTS

NYPD officers assigned to neighborhood precincts are parking their patrol cars and entering subway stations more than 10,000 times a week, Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said today, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022.

These station patrols by uniformed street-level cops are in addition to those performed by NYPD Transit Bureau officers who are assigned to the subway system full time.

“This is something that had never been done before,” Corey said. “It’s more than 10,000 additional station patrols per week that were not getting done prior.

African-American Day in Pictures

Hundreds of Union Brothers and Sisters joined for a festive day marching from 112th Street on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. uptown past the reviewing stand on 125th Street in Harlem. Before marching in a procession led by Adm. VP Lynwood Whichard and the TWU Local 100 Honor Guard, followed by a float and a City Bus, members enjoyed good food and good times.

September Brings Thousands to Family Day, West Indian American Carnival in Brooklyn

Thousands of transit workers and their families enjoyed much-anticipated outdoor events, now that COVID is in the rear view mirror. Here are photos from Family Day on September 10th and the West Indian American Carnival parade on September 5th. Just click and scroll to see all the photos.

NYS Paid Family Leave: Your Questions Answered

Paid Family Leave is a New York State program that allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of Paid Family Leave at 67% of their pay, up to a cap. It’s an insurance plan funded by employees through payroll deductions. The amount of that deduction changes every year.

In 2022, the employee contribution for Paid Family Leave is .511% of gross wages, with a maximum annual contribution of $423.71, deducted from after-tax wages. If an employee makes less than the NYS average weekly wage of $1,594.57, the deduction will be less.